


rough pasts

by nighting_gale17



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Eddie's trying his best, Episode Related, Episode Tag, Exhaustion, Hurt No Comfort, Overprotective Grandparents, single dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:53:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23764150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nighting_gale17/pseuds/nighting_gale17
Summary: Prompt:“What if one day eddie came home from his shift and Christopher was gone and most of his stuff was bond and Eddie freaked but that’s why they were arguing because his parents just kind or took Christopher without telling Eddie rubbing Eddie wouldn’t care or notice”
Comments: 2
Kudos: 46





	rough pasts

**Author's Note:**

> So, this was a bit rushed, but I needed to get this need to scream out of me and this short prompt was a good place to start. Thanks @marauder-girl for the inspo ily <3 took a bit of leeway, but i hope you like it!!! Don't forget to comment what you thought and scream about the episode with me! I'm nighting-gale17 on tumblr!

Eddie was… exhausted, though that may be considered an understatement. He was working three jobs, trying to do the best he could to take care of himself and his kid—making the best of a bad situation. There were days when he thought about Shannon and the anger he kept so carefully tucked away would come back and rear its ugly head, but he would force it away almost as soon as it made an appearance.

He couldn’t blame this on her. The circumstances he was in were of his own making. Shannon needed to take care of her mother, and if he was being honest with himself, with both of them, they needed time apart to sort things out.

Throughout it all, though, his parents had been a steady rock for Eddie to lean on. He tried not to rely on them too much—he’d failed his son so much already, he wasn’t going to do it again—but their comments on his ability to be a father always shied him away from asking too much of them. Right now, though, he knew that they were babysitting Christopher at his house until he came home, and all he wanted to do was hug his little boy tightly and allow himself to relax a little bit before his next shift in the morning.

“Hey, I’m home,” Eddie called out as he unlocked the front door, biting back a yawn as he let his duffle bag drop to the ground.

No one answered him. In fact, the house was oddly silent. It was almost noon, so Christopher is usually in the kitchen watching with rapt fascination as his Mamá cooked up on her famous recipes—but there was no one there.

“Mamá? Papá?” Eddie called, his voice echoing through the halls of the house. He tried to ignore the uneasy feeling that was building up in his chest when he looked into the living room and didn’t find them there. In fact, the room was devoid of all of Christopher’s toys—they were nowhere in sight.

“Christopher?” he called again, moving a little faster through the house as he made it to Christopher’s room, only to find it—empty.

Not just empty of Christopher, but empty of everything. His toy chest was gone, the spare pair of crutches was gone—all of the bedding on the bed, his drawings that had been hung on the wall, and even his favorite stuffed animals were—

No. No, no, no, no… Eddie raced out of the house, his heart in his throat as he leaped into his beat-up truck. They wouldn’t do this, he told himself. They wouldn’t take Christopher away from him. They wouldn’t take away the only good thing Eddie has in this world—the only thing that has made Eddie try harder than he ever has before at being a good person, a good _father_.

But they would.

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, deep down, he knew they didn’t think he was handling things. But he was. He was! He’s already gotten offers to join the fire department in two different cities—and they paid well, really well, enough that he wouldn’t have to get a second job to keep up with all of the bills. He’d be able to have a normal job and spend more time with Christopher and everything would be fine. He just needed to get through the rough patch first.

He could do this. He could be the father Christopher deserves.

Eddie just wished his parents had a little more faith in him.

By the time he reached his parent's house he felt nauseous with the amount of worry over Christopher. He knew, logically, that he was fine. That he was with his Mamá and Papá, but he wouldn’t be able to relax until he was holding his boy in his arms again.

“Christopher?” he called out as he exited his truck, parked haphazardly in the driveway, not that Eddie could care. “Christopher? Mamá? Papá?”

“Daddy!” Christopher’s excited voice drew his attention to the front porch, where the little boy was sitting by himself on the edge with a glass of lemonade sitting next to him.

Eddie rushed over to him immediately, kneeling down in front of him and gently folding him into a hug. He breathed in deeply, allowing the presence in his arms and the comforting smell of his son pull the tension out of his shoulders. “Hey, mijo, what’re you doing here?”

“Abuela said that—that I was gonna have a sleepover here tonight,” Christopher said as Eddie finally let go, beaming that ever happy smile at him. “And she got me lemonade.”

“Yeah, you love Abuela’s lemonade, don’t you?” Eddie asked, fondly ruffling Christopher’s hair with a small smile. “Hey, where is your Abuela? Is she inside?”

Christopher hummed an affirmative, reaching up with his arms until Eddie picked him up and he wrapped them around Eddie’s neck. Christopher’s curls tickled the side of Eddie’s neck as he tucked his head on his shoulder, holding on tightly as if Eddie might let go. “She and Abuelo didn’t look happy, papá.”

Eddie sighed, rubbing one hand on Christopher’s back soothingly as he briefly closed his eyes. “Yeah, buddy, I know. Say, how about, you go play with some of your legos,” he offered as he walked into the house. “And after I finish talking with Abuelo and Abuela, you and I can go visit los caballos, eh?”

Christopher was silent, obviously thinking hard about the choice. “Okay.” he finally agreed, poking Eddie’s shoulder with his finger. “But I want more of Abuela’s lemonade, too.”

“Of course, kiddo,” Eddie agreed, biting back a laugh and walking with Christopher back to his room in the house. He tried not show how much it stung to see all of Christopher’s stuff here when it should be at his house, instead setting his son down on the ground and placing a kiss to the top of his head. “I’ll be back in just a few minutes, okay?”

“Okay, daddy,” Christopher said distractedly, already walking toward his toys with the determination only a six-year-old can pull off.

Eddie watched him fondly for a second before he left the room and took a deep breath, preparing himself for the conversation he was already dreading before it had even begun. He knew his Mamá and Papá had some words for him—well, he had some things he wanted to say to them as well. And it was damn past time.

“You’re in over your head, Edmundo.”

Eddie had a feeling this wasn’t going to be pleasant.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this was a bit rushed, but I needed to get this need to scream out of me and this short prompt was a good place to start. Thanks @marauder-girl for the inspo ily <3 took a bit of leeway, but i hope you like it!!! Don't forget to comment what you thought and scream about the episode with me!


End file.
